Background: The context in which school-based health-promoting interventions are implemented is key for the delivery and success of these interventions. However, little is known about whether school culture differs by school deprivation. Methods: Using data from PromeSS, a cross-sectional study of 161 elementary schools in Québec, Canada, we drew…

The contextual, purpose-driven challenges facing schools and school systems across the world call for creative and innovative responses to revitalize school practices. The process of revitalization will require new thinking, new mindsets within an adaptive school culture and new leadership roles (formal and informal). Often the perception of…

This report documents the disappearance of child-directed activities and teachers' autonomy from Massachussetts' kindergartens. While child-directed activities have been reduced across the board, the study found that high socioeconomic status schools (SES) schedule 30 minutes more daily, two and a half more hours weekly, than low SES schools.…

The 2007 Bondar Report, "Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future," generated a vision for environmental curricula in Ontario. It has been the basis for the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education for environmental education (EE) in all Ontario schools. Based on our research and personal reflections, this paper…

This article reports on the changes that 15 vice principals experienced in their transition from teaching to administration. In-depth interviews were used to explore the personal change process that occurred, and data were analyzed for recurring themes to create a composite picture of this transition process. The findings illustrate that the…

This single case study reports on the programme of professional learning that a Canadian staff of elementary teachers (Junior Kindergarten to Grade Eight) and their school principal engaged in to learn to use a mobile multimedia device as an instructional resource. The professional learning was facilitated by two university researchers who used…

It is common practice in university faculties of education to second teachers for limited periods. However, few recent studies have examined how secondees perceive themselves in this role, particularly in relation to the increased demands to assume research as well as teaching duties. Three seconded school personnel were interviewed to explore…

Educational governance is a textually-organized relation only accomplished in the coordinated actions of people as they go about their everyday work. We bring this relation into view by tracing Canadian principals' and parents' descriptions of their educational work in the policy-mediated settings of public schooling in British Columbia, Canada.…

Worldwide teachers are faced with the task of continuously facilitating and implementing educational reform that has been designed without their participation. This exclusion of the key agents, who must mediate between the change agenda and actual change in the classroom, from the planning and decision-making processes, is detrimental to…

The introduction of web-based education in Canadian schools, as in other developed countries, has been particularly noticeable in rural areas. Small schools in rural communities have continued to get smaller as families relocate in urban areas in search of increased educational and vocational opportunities. There are a number of issues common to…

This small-scale pilot study investigated the role of school principals in the induction of new teachers in Ontario, Canada. Building upon the theoretical framework of Bolman and Deal (2002), as well as interviews, document analysis, and review of extant literature, the following findings were established: (a) Principals expressed that the…

According to a survey of U.S. and Canadian public school educators, both teachers and principals feel that teachers should be actively involved in initiating, planning, and implementing their own staff development programs. Teacher-directed staff development would focus on skill improvement and would be scheduled only during school hours. The…

This study was one of a series conducted by the Niagara Centre, Office of Field Development of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 1969-70 as part of a major project entitled "Wider Public Involvement in Formal Education." In February 1970 a telephone survey of 100 Niagara region elementary schools revealed that 48 used…

This paper describes case studies involving two Canadian high schools. These schools, recognized nationally and provincially as outstanding schools in dealing with multiple changes, provided a venue to explore the conditions that contribute to successful change. The research is based on the assumption that organizational learning is a valid…

Aspects of elementary school teachers' work that are problematic in identifying child abuse were studied in Ontario (Canada). Interviews with 10 teachers and questionnaires completed by 500 teachers and 100 principals show that abuse detection is affected by concern with academic learning and lack of information about child abuse. (SLD)